The Long-Awaited Lego Bookshelf

So this has nothing to do with food...or homemade gifts...but it's a fun idea that I wanted to share.

Ever since we moved into our house, which was well over a year ago, I have been looking for creative Lego decor for our now eight year old son's bedroom. Amazingly...there isn't a whole lot out there to buy other than Lego themed storage containers. Anything else was atrociously expensive...well more than I'd spend on my own bedroom and definitely too expensive to put in the hands of an 8 year old boy. We settled for grey walls, red accents, plaid bedding, and a framed Lego Batman poster.  Kinda boring.

Then I got this idea...but I kept it to myself for awhile because my husband, who happens to be excellent at "home improvement" projects already had a very long honey-do list...and the mere mention of another project would probably have been like hooking a hangnail on a bed sheet.

Finally the opportunity to redo our son's bedroom came around...and I pounced with my project idea. Granted, it's not like he raced down to the hardware store immediately for the paint and supplies. I offered to do all the sanding and painting and much to my own surprise I did the majority of it on my own. I say this because if you know me...you're aware that patience is not my virtue.

So here's how it all went down....

This shelf was a plain birch veneer Wal-Mart bookshelf...probably not the best quality for sanding and painting...but we made it work.

1) We took off all the shelves and I sanded the finish off of the entire piece.

2) I dusted it off and wiped it down with a damp cloth to make sure it was squeaky clean.

3) I painted the shelf, using Behr Paint and Primer in One from The Home Depot. I used a Dove roller brush for a smooth finish and a paint brush to get in the nooks and crannies...I waited until it was dry and then gave it another coat.

4) Once the shelf was all painted my wonderful husband sanded the tops off of 3" PVC pipe caps with low grit sand paper. He attached the caps with liquid nail and generously painted the caps so tired pregnant me wouldn't have to do it.

5) ...the only troublesome spot on this project was the cheap cardboard backing for this bookshelf. The paint started peeling off of it, so at the advice of Home Depot we gave it 3 good coats of Varathane Spar Urethane (water based) to help seal it. Time will tell if it will peel with the wear and tear of an 8 year old boy. If that happens I'll probably just rip the whole back of the shelf off and leave it open against the wall.